PMMI, the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, honored its third annual On the Rise Award winners at PMMI’s Virtual Annual Meeting. Developed by PMMI's Emerging Leaders Committee, this award recognizes 15 young professionals who have demonstrated outstanding achievements and leadership potential in the packaging and processing industry. This year, the committee received nearly 100 nominations.

The winners of the 2020 On the Rise Awards are:

Chris Anguil
Banding Sales Manager – Pharmaceuticals
Felins USA, Incorporated

Cristina Astahov
Human Resources Generalist
BellatRx Inc

Katie Exum
Customer Success Manager
Specright

Yvette Goitia
Proposals and Project Manager
Intralox, LLC

Erik Grinnell
Vice President of Automation
Quest Industrial

Randy Hoffman
Project Manager
Zarpac Inc

Erica Laino
Business Development Manager
Cama North America

Cody Leedham
Engineering Manager
Change Parts, Inc

Elie Mechaalany
Key Account Manager
Deville Technologies, LLC

Amanda Nimry
Global Branding and Graphic Design Specialist
Liquibox

Vannesa Palomo
Project Engineer
ZALKIN

Amit Patel
Product Marketing Manager F&B
ASCO/Emerson

Chris Staruch
Production Manager
Batching Systems, Inc

Mike Wolf
Manager of R&D
Triangle Package Machinery Co

Sarah Ziegler
Customer Relationship Specialist
QC Conveyors

To be considered for the award, winners had to meet the following nomination criteria: entry-level young professional employed by a PMMI member company for at least one year, display leadership potential at the company and a desire to advance his/her career in packaging and processing.

“PMMI and the Emerging Leaders Committee are thrilled to recognize these young professionals who are going above and beyond — especially in these unprecedented times,” says Liz Normandy, senior manager, marketing & communications, PMMI. “One of our top priorities when selecting winners is their commitment to learning and growing in the packaging and processing industry. These individuals have exceeded our expectations and their efforts continue to make an impact on the future of our industry.”

Award winners received free registration to PMMI’s Virtual Annual Meeting (Oct. 6-7). The winter issue of OEM Magazine will feature profiles of the winners. For more information on the On the Rise Awards and the 2020 winners, visit pmmi.org/emerging-leaders-network/awards.